Plan A, Phase One
Plaza of the Sciences In the Plaza of Sciences is a fountain of liquid mercury, which serves as the centerpiece of this immaculate and tranquil area. It is carved from a beautiful crystalline material obviously imported at hideous expense and is formed as a strange yet beautiful combination of the symbols for the MSE and for the Decepticon Empire. An inscription in ancient Decepticon sigils reads, "Knowledge is the power which separates the strong from the weak." The entire area is laid out around the central fountain, and thus is reminiscent of the Forum. Buildings for the various scientific divisions dot the landscape, pyramidal in form. Each of them is inscribed with the motto of the division it represents. The entire scene seems one of scholarly thought and peaceful progress... until you notice the watchful guards. Contents: Off-Road Recon Dunebuggy Amber MacKenzie Hidden Windsweeper Huge Engines The Atomium Obvious exits: Fly leads to Sky above Polyhex. North leads to Governmental Plaza. F-35B Lightning II circles high above the Plaza of the Sciences, scouting for signs of enemy movement. A full-scale attack on Polyhex would be suicidal, but a lightning raid on these engines under construction could completely scuttle at least one Decepticon plan. Contrail is a bit preoccupied as Discotheque, her aide, radios her to report, <> Contrail radios back, <> <> <> Below her, the Cosntructicons, who are all misspelled Constructicon gumbies, are hard at work on putting these huge engines together. Srapper has his plans right out in the open, too, because he has to consult them frequently. Windsweeper has been drafted to provide extra security, since apparently someone decided that having him stand around and look menacing was more useful than polishing Polyhex to a parade-ready shine, one block at a time. With Contrail circling in the air, he patrols the ground, stopping anyone who looks suspicious (i.e. anyone) from coming too close to the busy Constructicons. Suicidal, yeah. Even a lightning blitz would be considered potentially crazy and definately dangerous. Which is why you get someone that's definately crazy and potentially dangerous to do it. And playing drop-off as the case may be. Because this is Decepticon territory, so trying to come in from the skies would be even more insane to try. The form of Polyhex rising in front of them was quickly approaching. The inside of the buggy wasn't much for creature comfort, because it wasn't meant to be. There's a reason there's a safety harness (fortunately with quick releases) rather than seat belts, considering who the dunebuggy -is-. "Make sure you're secure there, miss. This is gonna be a bit bumpy." As the buggy comes up to one of the relay guard points the rather triggeryhappy looking security drones lift up their defensive peashooters. One blares in a monotone deadpan "Halt and declane your intentions." "Only thing I got declare," Sandstorm does the exact opposite, putting the pedal to the floor and blasting right through the barricade, "Is that you're ugly and you smell funny!" Wheels screech for traction as he drifts a corner and makes a beeline for the Plaza where orbital scans were picking up those really big objects. Subtle? You asked entirely the wrong guy for subtle. Sandstorm prefers the direct, unexpected approach. Who'd be suspecting a lone Wrecker (with secret passanger) to come blazing into here -solo- after all?? Contrail says, "Ugh, heads up. One of those Wrecker retrorats just blasted through the customs gate." Windsweeper makes a strangled noise. "You, uh, want me to intercept?" Amber MacKenzie chose to wear a jumpsuit in colors that are a fair match for the architecture in Polyhex, all the better to sneak in and look for a pair of idiots. This isn't a rescue attempt, at least not on her part; she's just having a look around. After having studied a map of the city, she's confident that she can find her way around if necessary, but once again, she's just here to check out the vicinity, not throw her life away. Uh oh. It looks like Sandstorm has different plans... Her eyes widen in surprise, but the harness holds her safely in place as they first gatecrash and then do some fancy (crazy) maneuvering. "Bloody hell," she mutters in exasperation. "How about if you let me off at the corner, so I can do some spying while you keep them occupied? And pleeeeeeeeeeease don't get yourself killed; it's a long walk to Iacon." Contrail says, "If you think you can handle the Wrecker, by all means. ...you do know what a Wrecker is, don't you?" F-35B Lightning II moves to a more careful loiter around the area, now on alert. She looks down at Sandstorm and tries to ferret out his weaknesses for Windsweeper. Her battle computer reports, 'Weakness: Red Bull'. She excuses to Windsweeper sheepishly, <<...my blasted battle computer has been on the fritz.>> The Costructicons move to take up defensive postures around the engines - still leaving those plans out in the open. That, and their legs are perfect for running between. The engines are really much too large for them to effectively cover, anyway. Combat: F-35B Lightning II sets her defense level to Protected. Combat: Contrail analyzes Sandstorm for weaknesses Windsweeper can exploit. Combat: Drained 4 energon. Windsweeper says, "Yes, I know what a Wrecker is! So, I don't get any back-up, then?"" Windsweeper flips his cannons into position and flies upward, hovering to get a better vantage point from which the spot the incoming Autobot. Combat: Windsweeper sets his defense level to Guarded. Contrail says, "I'm worried about /his/ back-up. A lone Wrecker diving into the heart of Polyhex is nutty, even for a Wrecker." Windsweeper says, "So do we scrap him and then look for his back-up, or look for his back-up and then scrap him?" Contrail says, "Scrap him now. A Wrecker in the smelter is worth two in the field." Rumble says, "Turn that Wrecker into a /wreck/!" Windsweeper says, "That was clever." Rumble says, "I been workin' on new material for a while." Just as the Decepticons are scrambling to get their defenses together the buggy comes tearing into the Plaza, unaware and probably unconcerned that Contrail is ratting out the Wrecker's lack of common sense or such. Not that they need much more of a demonstration that how he got in here in the first place, likely drawing aggro from several blocks around too. Tires screech as Sandstorm turns sideways and then starts to spin in place with a whooping, kicking up assorted dust and grit from the construction work from the ground. Which mixes with the plumes of sand spewing out of his exhausts, resulting in a thick cloud of sand swelling up over the work area quickly, making it a bit more difficult to keep an eye on the Wrecker. In the middle of the screen of sand he finally stops for a few moments, long enough to pop open a door. Better get moving Amber, they're probably going to start shooting soon. Combat: Off-Road Recon Dunebuggy sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Off-Road Recon Dunebuggy misses F-35B Lightning II with his Sandstorm Area attack! Combat: Off-Road Recon Dunebuggy (Sandstorm) used "Sandstorm": A Level 1 AREA-RANGED attack. Combat: Off-Road Recon Dunebuggy strikes Windsweeper with his Sandstorm Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Windsweeper's Accuracy. (Blinded) F-35B Lightning II is, sadly, falling right into Sandstorm's plan by getting wrapped up looking for /other/ Wreckers. His ridiculous bravery simply does not make sense to Contrail; she feels that he /must/ have a squad of Dinobots hidden to back him up somewhere. The F-35 is flying high enough that Sandstorm's sandstorm does not fog her vision, but she has a horrible realisation, "...Windsweeper is going to lose his Lysol-loving mind." She calls down, <> Combat: F-35B Lightning II inspires Windsweeper with threatening and overbearing words! Windsweeper flails wildly as the Sandstorm does his namesake thing. "Agh! What are you doing?! If you're going to attack, start shooting, don't just /mess up the place/! You ... you ... savage! I just CLEANED this plaza! This is a construction site! They're building precision equipment! It needs to be sterile! Die, Autobot scum!" he shouts, shooting wildly into the obscuring dust cloud as it leaves tiny scratches on his surface that will take hours to get out. Combat: Windsweeper strikes Off-Road Recon Dunebuggy with his Disruptor attack! Amber MacKenzie covers her face with a sleeve to filter the particulates and has to wait until the storm subsides before she can get a good look around. Yeeeeeees, the Evil Decepticons are up to some dastardly plot. Now what Evil Overlord rules have they broken? Hmmmmmmm. She has to smother a snicker as her gaze zeroes in on a datapad just as Sandstorm confirms that they left the plans out in the open. She'll have to see if the file is labeled "Project Overlord". Taking advantage of piles of plating, pallets of electronics, and... what looks like a secret stash of jugs of energon of some kind, she silently creeps closer to the tempting datapad, freezing once as a bolt of weaponsfire passes a few meters in front of her. It's a good thing Amber scrammed when she did, because the wild blasting comes hurtling through mere moments later. Most of the shots miss, but one does manage to punch a hole in the buggy's windshield, shattering it. Very good she wasn't still sitting there. Tires squeal as he guns the gas and charges towards the constructed forms proper, then leaps up into robot mode at a mad dash in the process, lingering sand cloud whips swirling around him as they start to settle. Glances in Windsweeper's direction briefly. "Really. They sent a -janitor- to defend this thing? Ol' Blinky must be getting desperately short on troops... whoops!" He skids to a stop just as one of the Constructicon knockoffs tries to club him with a sledgehammer and grabs the weapon. "Excuse me, borrowing!" He yanks the hammer out of his hands, kicks the guy towards Windsweeper, trying to knock both of them into the construction equipment of the giant engines. Off-Road Recon Dunebuggy transforms into his Sandstorm mode. Combat: Sandstorm sets his defense level to Neutral. Combat: Sandstorm strikes Windsweeper with his Foe Tossing (Ruckus) Area attack! Combat: Sandstorm strikes Huge Engines with his Foe Tossing (Ruckus) Area attack! The datapad with the plans just continues to sit out, unguarded and unlocked. This is what the Decepticons get for putting knock-offs to work! The F-35 disapproves as Windsweeper is sent flying into the huge engines. That will simply not do at all! She finally gives up her search for extra Wreckers, and she drops out of the sky to try to slug Sandstorm one. Contrail roars, "The lowliest Decepticon is still fit to use you as a footstool, Autobot scum!" In a transformation that is harder than it looks, Contrail rises up into robot mode. Combat: Contrail strikes Sandstorm with her Smiting the Heathens (Punch) attack! Combat: Gained 1 energon. Windsweeper shrieks indignantly as Sandstorm throws him at the engines, settling to the ground and rubbing at his optics to try and clear them as he dashes toward the Autobot, weapons firing. Combat: Windsweeper sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Windsweeper strikes Sandstorm with his Laser attack! Amber MacKenzie is good at scramming, ever since that useless old fogey Viator started stalking her. Good riddance, though she has some small qualms at the horrific nature of his fate; she'd have preferred to kill the old git cleanly. She shrugs to herself and carefully continues her slow but steady pace towards the innocuous and hopefully forgotten datapad while Sandstorm makes things interesting for the Decepticons. Every once in a while, she pauses to take a good look around for anything/one she's missed. For instance, any human prisoners. She scowls. The only human in sight is her. Still scowling, she turns on her camcorder and records images of the engines and the construction materials just in case. After that, she continues to hunt the tempting datapad. It won't be long before it's in reach. Sandstorm turns at the sound of the femme landing near him, just in time to get clocked across the faceplate. He staggers back a few steps, and rubs his jaw with one hand. "Not bad, lady. Not bad at all." Then jerks as a laser blast hits him in the back of the shoulder. "Tch. Getting fiesty now." A flick of the wrist pops a combat knife out of a hidden compartment in his forearm, snagging it in his hand as Sandstorm darts back towards Contrail and tries to stab it into her side. Though the attack is partially a feint, meant more to distract her as he ducks past, grabs one of the work scaffels and hoists himself up to start climbing. Up and away and away from the real snoop sneaking around. Combat: Sandstorm sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Sandstorm misses Contrail with his Misleading Jab attack! -1 Combat: Sandstorm (Sandstorm) used "Thermal Knife": A Level 2 MELEE attack. There seem to be no signs of humans in the area. McG Lucas and Liam Neeson Jr. are probably being kept somewhere else. Sandstorm's misleading jab is so misleading that he misses. Contrail scoffs, "Oh, so the worthless Autobot is climbing, is he? A Decepticon would simply seize the sky!" She unreels her whip and tries to pull him off the scaffold. Combat: Contrail misses Sandstorm with her Whiplash Whirlwind attack! -4 Combat: Gained 1 energon. Windsweeper rises into the air, aiming both arm cannons at Sandstorm, trying for an angle where he can blast the Autobot without risking hitting the engines. Finally deciding it's not going to happen, he throws caution to the winds and tries to pull the filthy miscreant down off the scaffolding. Combat: Windsweeper sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Windsweeper strikes Sandstorm with his Grab attack! Amber MacKenzie winces as poor Sandstorm gets tagged by the Loadout ripoff, but she concentrates on the new mission, taking advantage of the distraction and assuming that Sandstorm can handle himself. At long last, her slender hands furtively close around the large datapad. It's rather heavy for her, especially as it's more than half her own size, but there's some muscle under her curves. Not bodybuilding muscle, but still tough and durable. The datapad and its bearer quietly disappear into a pallet of electronic components. Sandstorm leans to the side as the whip lashes past him, snapping on part of the structure instead. "It'd also be a more obvious target!", he chides back at her, and hoists himself up onto the next platform. A technician looks up from his work just in time to see the Wrecker land, then goes tumbling over the edge as Sandstorm flings the hammer he'd ganked off the other guy at him. Only to get ganked himself when Windsweeper drops in to say hello. And by hello we mean hoist him off the platform. Damn that guy is strong for a janitor. Though he may want to start to worry a bit when Sandstorm grins at him. "Well, I was saving this for later, but you're forcin' my hand here bud." As the Triggercon lifts him off Sandstorm pulls out a large cylinder, twists the top, and with a "WRECK'N'RULE!" lobs it for the open hatch he had knocked the technician away from. And then it'll explode, hopefully doing a buttload of damage. Smoke, fire and debris -everywhere-. Combat: Sandstorm sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Sandstorm has created a bomb: "Demolition Charge"! Combat: Sandstorm strikes Huge Engines with Demolition Charge's Huge Explosion #11081 Area attack! Combat: Sandstorm's Demolition Charge is destroyed! Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Huge Engines's Agility. (Crippled) Combat: Sandstorm strikes Contrail with Demolition Charge's Huge Explosion #11081 Area attack! Combat: Sandstorm (Sandstorm) used "Huge Explosion #11081": A Level 6 AREA-RANGED attack. Combat: You took 18 damage. Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Contrail's Agility. (Crippled) Srapper, the typo gumby Cosntructicon, curses, "Oh, slag!" as the huge engines are partially exploded by sandstorm's sabotage. One of the four engines is basically scuttled. He paces back to the table where he left his datapad to check the plans, and he realizes, "Hey. Where'd my datapad go?" Contrail, however, had bigger problems, like the fact that instead of walking away from the explosion in cool slo-mo while wearing sunglasses, she is instead caught in the middle of it. Her outer plating is charred off, exposing the green painted innards that most military planes have - green which is almost instantly rendered sooty. She falls down to her knees, staggered and ablaze, like a Wicker Man. Then the flaming fake Triple-Changer tries to tackle Sandstorm. Combat: Contrail misses Sandstorm with her Flaming Fake Triple-Changer Tackle (Kick) attack! Combat: Drained 2 energon. Windsweeper pushes himself away from Sandstorm, crossing his arms in front of his face to shield himself from the exploding engines. His head snaps around when then Constructicon speaks. "Your what?" Combat: Windsweeper searches for Amber MacKenzie. Combat: Amber MacKenzie has been found! Amber MacKenzie is heavily burdened by the datapad, so she's moving slowly, slowly, slowly. All she wants is enough distance so that Sandstorm can zoom in and snatch her out of the fight without getting caught in the crossfire. Little does she know that time is running out for her... The sight of a flaming Contrail catches her attention, and she has to give the Decepticon some credit for sheer stubbornness. As Contrail lunges for him Sandstorm laughs a bit as he twists out of the way as she goes tumbling past. Throws a mock salute after her. "It's been fun guys, but I've wore out my unwelcome here." He turns and takes a few darting steps, then vaults and transforms. Buzzing low to the ground he swoops over a stash of equipment, a hatch opening from underneath to drop a ladder for Amber to grab onto. Sandstorm transforms into his Sikorsky Recon Copter mode. Combat: Sikorsky Recon Copter takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Contrail shakes a fist at the retreating Good Guys, as is traditional. Another burnt panel falls off. Huge Engines [ TACS Object: Huge Engines ] Tell a friendly administrator to set my OBJ_DESC attribute! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is a weapon object, see '+help WeaponObject' for more info ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Usage Restriction: None Can You Use It?: Yes Ammunition: None Required Energon: 50 Endurance: 68 / 100 Mode: 1 of 1 (Vehicle) [ TACS Weapon Object #9697 ] Autobot Message: 3/132 Posted Author AAR: Polyhex Partycrashing Sat Nov 24 Sandstorm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Hey look, it's Sandstorm. Looking beat up (as usual) but still smiling like a maniac (also usual)** "If yer gonna yell at me for doing something stupidly brave again Magnus, well, now's yer chance. Orbital survillence picked up several large machines being built in the science plaza of Polyhex. A bit attack over an uncertain target would of been dumb and wasteful, right? And there wasn't time to put together an actual strike recon team... So hey, I went to take a look for myself and confirm just what was going on." "Okay, mostly myself. Amber caught me leaving and insisted she come with to look for this missing hollowood idiots. So a few gates were crashed, I drove her in, then went to make a really big distraction while she was snooping." "Turns out they were making some huge ass engines. For what, dunno. I knocked around a bit with Contrail and some kook that's as obsessed with cleaning as Loadout and twice as violent about it, then managed to blow up one engine and damage the other three with a demolition bomb. No sign of the missing humies, but Amber did grab one of the knock-off worker's datapad. Made a copy of the data on the way home, but it's tech level is a bit outta my grasp, one of you nerds is gonna want to look at it. Eh, don't matter. I got to break something that was probably important in some way." "Oh and if anyone sees Topspin or Twin Twist, remind them they both owe me a drink for not thinking I could pull that off on the fly. Hah! Sandstorm, out." Decepticon Message: 2/85 Posted Author AAR: Plaza for the Science Sun Nov 25 Contrail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ *G2 Hypercube Spinny* Contrail is in the Plaza of the Sciences, which is very dirty, sandy, and charred. She is shaking her fist at some figures who are no longer there. She reports unhappily, "The Wrecker Sandstorm gatecrashed into Polyhex for a lightning strike. Windsweeper engaged Sandstorm and did admirably well at holding him off while I search for Sandstorm's back-up. While I was expecting something like, oh, a Dinobot squad, it turned out that Sandstorm's back-up took a surprising form: a human, who was only identified thanks to Windsweeper's exceptional sensors. The Cosntructicons," all misspelled Constructicon gumbies, "report that the datapad containing the plans for the engines is gone, and despite our efforts, Sandstorm was able to destroy one of four engines and damage the other. We will have to see if progress on this project remains viable. Moreover, we must remain vigilant as to the possibility of human infiltration of Cybertron. Looks like the meatbags and the Autobots are making up to each other." *G2 Hypercube Spinny*